In launching her Northern California-based brand marketing agency, Marissa La Brecque was clear about the attitude she wanted her agency’s name to capture.
“Energetically, I wanted the name to have a sort of femininity to it—but also to express a dynamic business feeling,” she says.
Most formal naming efforts extend to multiple rounds of exploration and involve hundreds of candidates. The process that led to the new agency name, Hyperflore, was short and informal. Marissa considered a half-dozen candidates or so, of which Hyperflore was one—and the immediate favorite.
Marissa cites a number of other factors in addition to the friends-and-family nature of the engagement that led to a quick decision.
“As someone who also names companies and products, I have a clear understanding of what a name needs to do,” she says. “I’m also a quick decision maker.”
The compound nature of the name allows each of the elements to convey one of the two essential qualities the agency founder sought. Hyper conveys a sense of propulsion, while flore evokes a softer, more organic quality. Flore is the yin to hyper’s yang. This attitude extends from the name into the company’s logo and visual identity.
“The first names we present to most clients are straw dogs, not serious contenders,” says Eric La Brecque, principal of Alphanameric. “We field them simply to evoke a response.
“When naming for family and friends, the situation is a bit different,” he continues. “It’s less about process. Often, that first little probe is all that’s required.”
Since launching in 2021, Hyperflore has attracted a growing number of clients in Northern California as well as internationally in food, hospitality, wellness and other categories.